Gift Ideas for Kids

I was just thinking about what the best gifts are for the first few years of life. As a mom with three small kids, I feel like we have plenty of toys. So I try to think of gifts to give that are:

1. Non-cluttery

2. Useful or disposable

3. Something that kids love

4. Cost effective

So far I have a pretty solid plan for the first few birthdays, but I am still thinking on it. I am sure my list will continue to grow as my kids get older. So here is what I have so far:

First birthday: A helium balloon. It doesn't have to be a fancy milar balloon, just a balloon that floats. This makes every 1 year old I have ever met happy. Plus, it eventually loses air and can just be thrown away.

Second birthday: Tape or bandaids. (I got this idea from designmom.com). Those are both things that little kids LOVE to use, but are usually restricted in. 

Third birthday: Small flashlight. All kids love flashlights, but once again it's something they usually aren't allowed to use. Also, as a parent I like having extra flashlights on hand, so it's not something that I am annoyed to make room for in our home.

Fourth birthday: Art supplies or real kid size tools (small shovel, kid scissors, etc). It helps them explore their creativity, and once again it's something that is useful to have. 

Fifth birthday: Disposeable camera. It's really fun to give kids a camera and see the world through their eyes. This does have the stress of getting it developed, but if there is a walmart near you that isn't too bad. And it's just fun to let them be in charge and see what "develops" (sorry, couldn't help myself).

So, what are your go-to kid gifts? Any suggestions or ideas to add?

Funny things from our life...

The other day Gabe wanted to finish watching "White Christmas" when he got home from school. I asked him to please wait, because Tommy and Asher were both asleep on the couch and I didn't want the tv to wake them up. Gabe got really upset and told me, "you are just breaking down my heart!" Another time I was getting something out of the office and I saw Gabe's teddy, Baby Bear behind some boxes. I yelled "Daddy! Daddy!" in the highest, whiniest voice I could (my best impersonation of the voice Gabe uses for Baby Bear). Gabe immediately came running up the stairs yelling, "I'm coming sweetheart!" and Tommy from the other room said, "Baby Bear? Is he okay?" I thought it was hilarious that they both instantly recognized the voice of baby bear. Tommy loves to play Spiderman. Only, I don't think he actually knows who Spiderman is. In his world, Spiderman is the bad guy, and he is always chasing Gabe or Asher around. He puts on his toughest scary face and growls, "I'm spiderman!" It's pretty funny to watch.

Eternal Droning of the Endless Whine

Tonight we had a somewhat rough bedtime. It got started a little late, I was already tired, and the boys weren't listening super well. When I asked Gabe what song he wanted, he asked for, "Down By the Bay", which wasn't surprising since that has been his pick for, no joke, the last three months. Are you familiar with it? It goes,

 Down by the bay 
Where the watermelons grow 
Back to my home 
I dare not go 
For if I do 
My mamma will say 
"Have you ever seen a whale with a polka dot tale?" 
Down by the bay!

 And so on, inserting various silly rhymes for the last part. After we sang a few verses of that, I asked Tommy what bedtime song he wanted. He asked for the dragon song. This also happens to be, "Down by the Bay" but with modified lyrics by Ontario, as follows:

 Down by Dragon bay 
Where the dragons grow 
Back to my home
I dare not go 
For if I do 
Mamma dragon will say 
"Have you ever seen a cat, wearing a hat?" 
Down by dragon bay! 

So I sang a few verses of that. Then the endless whining started. Gabe was so upset that I sang him "Down by the Bay" when what he really wanted was, "Down by Dragon Bay". The conversation went something like this:

 G: "Mom, you just did something that wasn't very nice"
M: "I did? What was that?"
G: "You sang Down by the Bay, but I wanted Down by DRAGON bay"
M: "Well, I just sang that"
G: "But you just sang that first and you missed your chance to be nice and sing the song I wanted!"
M: "Gabe, you asked for Down by the Bay, and then I sang both of them, so you got to hear it"
G: "I just asked for Down by the Bay as a joke! But then you SANG it!"
M: "Well, you didn't tell me it was a joke, you just asked for it"
G: "But if you don't do what I say and be nice and make me happy, then I will just say that I hate you!" M: "I will be sad if you say you hate me, but it's still time for bed."
G: grumble grumble *endless whining* mumble dragon bay mumble I just didn't WANT that grumble mumble you just shouldn't have DONE it mumble mumble....

Only, make this whole conversation continue for another 20 minutes. This was also after our conversation earlier today when I told him we were going to do a fun activity after lunch and he came slumping into the kitchen saying, "Just whoever cares what you say!" Yeah, I don't have a four year old. I have a teenager.

Bethesda...

I just came across this talk in my personal study, and I was really touched by it. I have a lot of friends and family members that can relate to this in many different ways. I love the clear doctrine that he teaches, and the reminder of the work we are doing when we are serving the handicapped. I would really encourage you to read this talk, it's awesome. The Moving of the Waters by Elder Boyd K. Pcker.

Um....

"Mom, could you please come help me find some clean underpants?"
"Sure, Gabe"
"Thanks, I made some but they were too tight"
"You made some?"
"Yeah."
"Um, what did you make them out of?"
"It's okay, they were just too little and tight, so I just need other ones"
"Yeah, I will find you some cloth ones, but can you show me the ones you made?"
"Okay, these ones!" (holds up a piece of paper with pieces of tape stuck to it)
"Yeah, I can see why those didn't work as well"

Projects...

So, I have a few projects I have really been wanting to tackle. Unfortunately, the only power tools I own currently are a drill. I suppose I should say the power tool. There is a lot I can do with that, but not either of the large projects that I have on my project list. Here is what I would love to get finished as quickly as possible:

1. A sideboard for the dining room. This has to be homemade, because our dining room is actually a small breakfast nook. I can't just find a good sideboard and stick it in there. I want to build two small shelving systems that fit on either side of the radiator, with a long counter area that stretches across them. Oh, that would be lovely.

2. A bed. I have very specific requirements for a bed, and once again it's something that I need to just make myself.

I have a lot of other smaller projects, but those two would really be awesome to get done. Luckily, I just talked to my MIL, and she said she would bring some tools when she comes up this weekend, so I might actually get some of them done. Woo hoo!

My latest baking endeavor

Patriotic cheesecake....yum!